Cigar protectors



-4 1959 s. K. LOOMIS' 2,910,072

CIGAR PROTECTORS Filed Oct. 26. 1956 Inventor StaJZZejjf. LOGJZZiS,

United States Patent CIGAR PROTECTORS Stanley K. Loomis, Oak Park, 111.

Application October 26, 1956, Serial No. 618,588 3 Claims. Cl. 131-189The present invention relates to devices for increasing the pleasure tobe derived from cigar smoking.

An important part of the enjoyment to be derived from cigar smokingcomes from the act of holding the cigar in the mouth. Most cigar smokerscontinue to chew on their cigar long after the cigar has ceased to burn,and even after it has become too short to be smoked. In this manner, thesmoker releases juices from the cigar which he enjoys.

Unfortunately, the mouth juices penetrate the portion of the cigar thatis Within the mouth and cause it to become soggy. All too soon, thetobacco begins to detach from the cigar and must be spit out of thesmokers mouth. Also, a soggy cigar can not be smoked, because smokecannot be drawn through the soggy end of the cigar. Sooner or later, thesmoker must bite olf the soggy end of the cigar and throw it away.Because of this necessity, the life of the cigar is shortened, and thesmoker is deprived of the juices from the cigar at a time when they aremost enjoyable.

One method of solving the problems caused by a soggy cigar is to employa cigar holder which retains the cigar but does not permit any portionof the cigar to enter the mouth of the smoker. A cigar holder of thistype prevents the cigar from becoming moist since it isolates the cigarfrom the juices of the mouth of the smoker. However, by so doing, thecigar does not release its own juices, nor do these juices have accessto the mouth of the smoker- As a result, the smoker is deprived of asignificant portion of his smoking pleasure.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a devicewhich will prevent the tobacco of the portion of a cigar disposed withinthe mouth of a smoker to become detached from the cigar but will nothinder the free flow of juices from the cigar. I

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a device whichwill permit a smoker to enjoy the juices of a cigar and still assure himof the ability to draw smoke from the cigar.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a deviceachieving the above objects which is durable and inexpensive tofabricate.

These and additional objects of the present invention will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from a further reading of thisdisclosure, particularly when viewed in the light of the drawings, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a cigar protector constructedaccording to the teachings of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the cigar protector illustratedin Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is also a side elevational view of the cig protectorillustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

In order to assure full enjoyment to a cigar smoker, both the teeth andthe lips of the smoker must be in contact with the cigar. Contact of theteeth with the end of the cigar is necessary in order to aid the juicesof the mouth in penetrating the cigar and thus causing it to release itsjuices. Also, a cigar presents a better surface for the teeth to restupon and grasp than is afforded by the usual materials employed formouth pieces of cigar.

For these reasons, the inventor has provided a cigar protector whichencompasses the end of a cigar and is largely disposed within the mouthof the smoker of the cigar. The cigar is retained between the teeth, inexactly the same manner a smoker retains a cigar when employing no cigarholder or protector, and the smokers lips contact the exterior surfaceof the cigar itself.

As illustrated in the figures, a cigar protector constructed accordingto the teachings of the present invention has a skeleton frame 10 whichfits about the en'd'of the cigar to be placed within the smokers mouth,the cigar being designated by the reference numeral 12 and indicated indashed lines. The frame 10 has a curved portion 14 at one end and a pairof legs 16 and 18 extend outwardly from the ends of the curved portion14generally in a common plane with the curved portion 14,

and the ends .of the leg portions 16 and 18 remote from the curvedportion are closer together than at the curved portion. The curvedportion 14 has a radius of curvature slightly greater than that of thecigar, and the inventor has found that a radius of curvature of 71 inchaccommodates the cigars commonly available. An aperture smoke drawingtube 22 opposite to the curved portion 14, designated 24, terminates ona plane disposed at an angle .of approximately 45 relative to the axisof the tube 22, in order to provide a relatively sharp point to piercethe wrapper of the cigar 12 when it is desired to insert the cigarprotector about the end of the cigar.

A curved strip portion 26 is disposed at the end of the leg 16 oppositeto the curved portion 14, and a similar curved strip portion 28 isdisposed at the end of the leg 18. The strip portions 26 and 28 confronteach other and are curved toward each other with a radius of curvaturewhich is equal to that of the largest cigar to be positioned in theprotector. The inventor has found that a radius of curvature for thestrip portions 26 and 28 of /8 inch is suitable for commonly availablecigars. As

stated above, the leg portions 16 and 18 are inclined pair of strutportions 32 and 34 which secure the strip portions 26 and 28 to the legportions 16 and 18.

When the cigar protector is being employed by a' smoker, the smokerforces the protector over the end of the cigar to be placed in hismouth, the smoke drawing tube 22 piercing the wrapper of the cigar 12and terminating within the cigar. The smoker then places the protectorand cigar in his mouth, the curved portion 14 and leg portions ;16 and18 being almost entirely enclosed within the smokers mouth. Only thestrut portions 32 and 34 and the strip portions 26 and 28 are disposedout of the smokers mouth. Also, the leg portions 16 and 18 are disposedon a plane generally parallel to the smokers teeth, so that the teethgrip the cigar 12 directly,

rather than any portion of the cigar protectQI, The Cigar 2.91m VPatented 27, 19 59? itself forms a resilient and pliable surface for thesmokers teeth to grasp the cigar, and is much less damaging to the teethof the smoker than the relatively hard materials used in conventionalcigar and cigarette. holders.

Figure 3 illustratestwo planes normal to theaxisof the frame 10,designated A and B, and the smokers teethcontact the cigar 12 betweenthese planes. Plane A intersects .the axis of the smoke drawing tube 22at a distance of approximately inch from the aperture in the curvedportion 14, and plane B is disposed at a distance of approximately inchfrom the aperture in the curved portion 14. The inventor has found thatvirtually all smokers grip their cigars within this region, and-as aresult, the leg portions 16 and 18 of the frame must be relative- 1ynarrow in this region. The teeth of the smoker bear down upon the cigar12, and cause large indentations, illustrated by the reference numeral36 in Figure 3, and it is undesirable for the teeth of the smoker torest upon the leg portions 16. and 18. For this reason, the inventor hasfound that the width of the leg portions 16 and 18 must be less than /3inch, andare preferably of the order of A; inch. Also, the smoke drawingtube 22 must extend beyond the plane B in order to be certain that thesmoke drawing tube will not become clogged as the smoker increases thedepth of the indentations 36.

The strip portions 26 and 28 are designed to maintain the frame 10 inalignment with the cigar 12. If all cigars were of exactly the samediameter, the strips 26 and 28 could be replaced by a continuous angularportion, however, cigars differ greatly in diameter. For this reason,the material employed to construct the frame 10 is selected to havesufficient resiliency to apply a pressure against the'cigar between thestrip portions 26 and 28. This fact also makes it necessary that theframe 10 be constructed of a thickness suitable to impart adequatemechanical strength, although it is to be understood that the frameshould be as thin as possible while performing its necessary functions.The inventor has found that brass is a. very suitable material for theframe 10 and possesses sufficient mechanical resiliency and strengthwhen fabricated with a & inch thickness. Other materials having theresiliency of brass may also be employed.

Since the principal portions of the cigarprotector are disposed withinthe mouth of the smoker when in use, it is desirable that the materialemployed to fabricate the cigar protector be. noncorrosive within thehuman mouth and suitable for this purpose. While brass itself is asuitable material, blemishes and rough spots on the surface of the brassmustbe carefully avoided to prevent areas in which contamination canoccur. For this reason, a coating of gold, silver, or other material ofsuitable chemical properties which will form a smooth surface over theframe 10 is employed, this coating being designated in Figure 2 with thereference numeral 38. The coating material must be capable of forming asmooth surface, noncorrosive in the human mouth, and sufficiently hardto resist wear.

From the foregoing disclosure, those skilled in the art will readilydevise many modifications and embodiments of the present inventionwithin its intended scope. It is therefore intended that the scope ofthe present invention be not limited by the foregoing disclosure, butrather only by the appended claims.

The inventionv claimed is:

1. A cigar protector comprising a frame having a curved portion at oneend adapted to fit about one end of the cigar and a pair of spacedconfronting leg portions extending outwardly therefrom, said legportions having widths between two planes spaced from the end of theframe by distances of and inch, respectively, no greater than inch, thecurved portion having a central aperture therein, and the end of each ofthe leg portions being bifurcated and terminating in a strip portiondisposed between the bifurcations thereof, the strip portionsconfronting each other being curved toward each other, and a hollow tubesealed within the aperture in the curved portion of the frame andextending from the curved portion only between the leg portions of theframe, said tube being open at the end seal within the aperture andhaving a closed portion extending therefrom.

2. A cigar protector comprising a frame having a curved portion atoneend with a radius of curvature of approximately A inch adapted to fitabout one end of the cigar and a pair of spaced confronting leg portionsextending outwardly therefrom, said leg portions having widths betweentwo planes spaced from the end of the frame by distances of and 4 inch,respectively, no

greater than inch, the curved portion having a central aperture therein,and each of the leg portions being bifurcated and terminating in a stripportion disposed between the bifurcations thereof, the strip portionsconfronting each other being curved toward each other with a radius ofcurvature of approximately inch, and a hollow tube sealed within theaperture in the curved portion of the frame and extending from thecurved portion only between the leg portions thereof.

3. A cigar protector comprising a frame having a curved portion at oneend adapted to fit about one end of the cigar and a pair of spacedconfronting leg portions extending outwardly from the curved portion,said leg portions having widths no greater than inch in the regionbetween a pair of planes spaced from the end of the frame bya distanceof inch and inch, respectively, the curved portion having a centralaperture therein, and each of the leg portions terminating opposite thecurved portion in a transverse. strip portion, the strip portionsconfronting each other and being curved toward each other to accommodatea cigar therebetween, and a hollow imperforate tube sealed within theaperture of the curved portion of the frame and extending from thecurved portion only between the leg portions a distance greater thaninch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS GreatBritain Apr. 8, 1926

